ASCP:

INTRO & THE BOC EXAM GENERAL

INFORMATION

YOUR HOST:
FOCHE FRANCIS FUMOLOH
PHD (ABD), MSC, MLS(ASCPI)CM, CS(MOH)
 WHAT IS ASCP

• ASCP stands for the American Society for Clinical Pathology

- Unites over 100,000 anatomic and clinical pathologists, medical lab
professionals, and students to advance laboratory medicine to better
improve patient care through knowledge, collaboration and global
community.
- serves the entire laboratory team, from pathologists, fellows, and residents
to laboratory administrators, scientists, technologists, educators, and
medical and laboratory students.
 WHAT IS BOC

• BOC stands for the Board of Certification

• The ASCP Board of Certification is the gold standard of credentialing for laboratory professionals
world-wide.

• The BOC is an administratively independent certification agency that prepares relevant standards and
develops procedures that will assure the competence of medical laboratory personnel.

• It certifies those individuals who meet the academic and clinical prerequisites and who achieve
acceptable performance levels on examinations.
 BENEFITS OF ASCP MEMBERSHIP

• If your career is in the laboratory, the ASCP is here to serve you

• Join ASCP for industry- and discipline-specific professional development
through
• annual conferences, expert webinars and roundtables, detailed white
paper research and networking opportunities,
• ASCP members gain access to unrivaled industry resources.
• knowledge, collaboration and global community
• improved job prospects, higher salaries and greater career satisfaction.
 BECOMING A MEMBER – 2 WAYS
• OPTION 1
• International Member
• eligible if
- you are currently or have been previously certified by the ASCP BOC in one or
more categories and
- practice laboratory medicine in a country or region other than the United
States or Canada.
- You must also hold membership in any appropriate existing medical or
laboratory association in the country or region in which you practice.
• New International Certificants - Free
• Receive a complimentary membership for one year immediately following
your first certification.
 BECOMING A MEMBER – 2 WAYS
• OPTION 2
• International Clinical Scientist Member
• You are eligible
- if you hold an academic doctorate (PhD),
- and you are not certified by the ASCP Board of Certification.

• International Clinical Scientist Membership Options

• One-Year Membership - $79 USD
 GET CREDENTIALED :
BECOMING A MEMBER THROUGH EXAMS

• By following option 1, that’s for those without PhD,

• Register and take the BOC exams
• Pass the exams
• Maintain your membership
 APPLICATION PROCESS

1. Determine your examination category and eligibility route

o Use the BOC Examination Eligibility Assistant for U.S. Certification

2. Login or create an ASCP account

o Do not create a duplicate account.
o The name in your ASCP account must match (first and last) a valid
form of ID.

3. Click on “Apply Now” to access the online application

 4. SELECT CATEGORY AND ROUTE OF APPLICATION

Eligibility Routes for International Medical Laboratory Scientist, MLS(ASCPi)

• applicants must satisfy the minimum requirements of at least one of the following routes:
Route 1: Baccalaureate degree in Medical Lab Science, Biological science, or Chemistry
AND successful completion of a MLS training program which must include blood
banking, chemistry, hematology, and microbiology.

Route 2: Baccalaureate degree in Medical Lab Science, Biological science, or Chemistry

AND three years of acceptable clinical experience in an accredited/approved laboratory.
Experience must include blood banking, chemistry, hematology, and microbiology.
Route 3: Baccalaureate degree from accredited/ approved educational institution
AND successful completion of a two-year Medical Laboratory Science program*. The training
program must include blood banking, chemistry, hematology, and microbiology.

Route 4: Baccalaureate degree in Medical Lab Science, Biological science, or Chemistry

AND five years of acceptable clinical*** experience in an accredited/approved laboratory.
Experience must include blood banking, chemistry, hematology, and microbiology.

Route 5: Baccalaureate degree from an accredited/approved* educational institution,

AND a two-year diploma in biological science or chemistry,

AND five years of acceptable clinical experience in an accredited/approved laboratory.

Experience must include blood banking, chemistry, hematology, and microbiology.

 APPLICATION PROCESS CONT’D

5. Verify your contact information

6. Complete the online application

o Upload appropriate training and/or experience documentation.
o All files must be uploaded as PDF files within the online application.

7. Submit the application fee

o Applications need to be submitted online, and payment received, within 90 days from
the date started.
o Applications are not complete until payment has been received and processed.
o Application fees cover the administrative costs of processing applications, including the
review of all documentation; application fees are not refundable.
 APPLICATION PROCESS CONT’D
8. Request official transcript(s) be sent from your academic institution to the
ASCP BOC

9. Monitor application status

o Login at any time to View the Status of your application.
o An email notification will be sent when there is a change in the status
of your application.
o Keep your email address current with the ASCP BOC.

10. Resolve any deficiencies with your application

o Incomplete or missing information will delay processing.
 APPLICATION PROCESS CONT’D

11. Schedule your exam date

12. Prepare for exam day

13. Sit for the exam

14. Receive official exam results

For complete information, go to Get Credentialed.

 QUALIFICATIONS AND STATE LICENSURE

• Aside ASCP BOC certifications, exams can be taken towards certain

qualifications and state licenses

• Qualifications include: QLS (Qualification in Laboratory Safety), etc. Follows

different routes for eligibility

• Different states in the US may require specific exams to allow applicants to

practise in these states
EXAM PREPARATION

• get the right study materials

• read, practice and correlate with workflow
• Practice with BOC questions and verify answers
• get a suitable study partner
 STUDY MATERIALS
• *NEW* BOC Interactive Practice Exam – MLT and MLS
• Highlights include:
Nearly 2,500 questions (same as the BOC Study Guide!)
• A huge bank of materials
•

available depending on the • User can build their own quiz or timed practice exam,
choosing questions based on:
field of certification
o Subject area
• Example MLT/MLS o Difficulty level – Based on data from other users

• Practice Exam allows user to set a time limit to simulate a

real exam scenario

• Mobile friendly – Access anywhere on desktop or mobile

• Commentary and references can be turned on or off for

different study styles
 EXAM ADMINISTRATION
• The ASCP Board of Certification uses computer adaptive testing (CAT) for the majority of
its certification exams, and a fixed-form exam for selected certification exams.
• CAT provides a more robust method to measure the true ability of test takers.
• When a test taker answers a question correctly, the next exam question has a slightly
higher level of difficulty.
• The difficulty level of the questions presented to the test taker continues to increase until a
question is answered incorrectly.
• Then, a slightly easier question is presented.
• In this way, the exam is tailored to the individual’s ability level and ensures that each
question has a 50% chance of being answered correctly.
• All exam questions are multiple-choice with one best answer.
• In CAT, test takers cannot skip a question because the CAT algorithm measures the
individual’s ability level each time a question is answered.
• Since each exam adjusts to meet the test taker’s knowledge level, every exam is
unique.
• Each question in the test bank is calibrated for level of difficulty and is classified by
content area.
• The content area aligns with the exam specific content outline.
• The test taker must answer enough questions correctly to achieve a score at or
above the pass point in order to successfully pass the exam.
• There is no set number of questions one must answer to pass, nor is there a set
percentage one must achieve to pass.
• If at the end of the exam the test taker’s score is at or above the pass point, then he
or she passes the exam.
 EXAM DURATIONS

• Most examinations are scheduled for 2 hours and 30 minutes and

have 100 questions.

• The PBT examination is scheduled for 2 hours and has 80

questions.

• The MLT examination for California state licensure ONLY is

scheduled for 2 hours and has 80 questions.

• The DMLI examination is scheduled for 4 hours and has 150

questions.
Q/A SESSION
THANKS